The Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of
Indian origin in Sri
Lanka. They are also known as Hill country
Tamils,Up-country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They are partly descended
from workers sent from South India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to
work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on
their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil-speakers
mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam
or Hill Country yet others are also found major urban areas and in
the Northern province. Although they are all termed as Tamils
today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well
as diverse South Indian caste
origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of
Sri Lanka. In general socio economically their standard of living
is below that of the national average. In 1964 a large percentage
were expatriated back to India but left a considerable number as
stateless people. By 1990’s most of these have been given Sri
Lankan citizenship. Most are Hindus with a minority of Christians and Muslims amongst them.
Politically they are supportive of trade union derived political
parties that have supported most of the ruling coalition since the
1980s.

Under an agreement between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments
in the 1960s, around 40% of Hill Country Tamils were granted Sri
Lankan nationality, and many of the remainder were repatriated to
India.[4]
However, the ethnic conflict has led to the growth of a greater
sense of common Tamil identity, and the two groups are now more
supportive of each other.[5] By
the 1990s most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan
citizenship.[4]

History

Tea plantation in Sri Lanka.

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Flow of
immigrants

Historically Sri Lankan monarchs have used the services of South
Indian labor since centuries BCE. According to the primary
source Mahavamsa, number
service groups from Pandyan kingdom in
present day Tamil Nadu
accompanied the settlement of Anuradhapura by Prakrit speakers. There is epigraphic evidence of traders and others
self identifying as Damelas or Damedas (Sinhala and Sinhala prakrit
for Tamils) in Anuradhapura and other areas of Sri Lanka
as early as 2nd century BCE. The idea of looking upon the Demedas
as aliens was not prevalent in the Early Historical Period.[6]

South Indian soldiers were brought to Anuradhapura in ever
larger numbers in the seventh, eight, ninth and tenth centuries ACE
leading to number of rulers relying on their help to consolidate
and rule, Raja Raja Chola (Who had a Hon.title UDAYAR was
from the Raja Kula Agammudayar caste) created a town called
Jananathamangalam,near Anuradhapura and settled Velakkara(Maravar),
& Agampadi (Agampu+adi) soldiers(Agammudayar),(These two Castes
were sub divisions from the Tamil Mukkulathor caste),they
eventually got assimilated to Sinhala society,the sinhala family
name Palihakkara (Palaikkarar) originated from the
Velakkara soldiers and the suffix Agampodi in front of
some names of the Salagama sub caste "Hewapanne"(militia)originated
from the agampadi soldiers,who married Salagama Hewapanne women,
There was also large scale mercantile activity from peninsular
India primarily from the Coromandel Coast.[7]

The majority Sinhalese caste structure, which is a
flexible system with no religious sanctions attached to it, has
accommodated the recent Hindu
immigrants from South India leading to the emergence of three new
Sinhalese caste groups-the Salagama, the Durava and the Karava.[8][9] This
migration and assimilation happened until the eighteenth
century.[8]
Salagamas whose caste legends allude to South India, came as
Nambudiri brahmins from Kerala, for the coronation ceremony of King
Vijayabahu I, & for the coronation ceremony of Prince
Wathhimi,& also as specialized service providers as weavers & as mercenary
soldiers (Agampadi soldiers) from Tamil Nadu, but some of them,
were punished by the King of Kotte who imposed cinnomon as a tax,
eventually they became cinnamon peelers. How and when this happened
is unclear, but according to some historians it was in 1406 by the
King of Kotte.[8]

Initial
recruitment

Indian Tamil worker at a tea plantation in Ceylon, The National
Geographic Magazine, April 1907

The Hill Country Tamils derive their origins from a Britishcolonial era project.
According to Professor Bertram Bastianpillai, workers around the Tamil Nadu cities of Thirunelveli, Tiruchi, Madurai and Tanjore were recruited from 1827[10] by Governor Sir Edward
Barnes on the request of George Bird, a pioneering planter.[11]
There is also a trading community of Indian Tamils who were not
part of the plantation economy.[12] As
soon as these migrant workers were brought to Mannar, the port at which they landed on their
arrival by boat from South India, they were moved via Kurunagela to
camps in the town of Matale.
There they were quarantined for a period of a week or more,
examined for infectious diseases such as small pox, cholera or typhoid and vaccinated them
against these diseases before they were sent to Kandy, from where they were dispersed to
locations where they would either work on estates already
established by a pervious gang of workers or clear the jungle to
establish new ones. Many died during their firs few months of
employment.[11]
They were instrumental in the establishment of tea, rubber, coffee and coconut plantations. They formed the bulk of
the labour force that turned the malaria-infested forests of Sri
Lanka into rich plantations, which sustains the Sri Lankan economy
until now.[5][13]

Society

Tamil settlement in Central Sri Lanka

Population figures

Census operations started
in Sri Lanka in 1871. The Census of 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 had
lumped together Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils. Since 1911,
Indian Tamils have been shown as a separate category. The
population statistics are revealing. In 1911, Indian Tamils
constituted 12.9 per cent of the population, whereas Sri Lankan
Tamils formed 12.8 per cent; in 1921, 13.4 per cent and 11.5 per
cent; in 1931, 15.2 and 11.3; in 1946, 11.7 and 11.0; in 1953, 12.0
and 10.9; in 1963, 10.6 and 11.0; in 1971, 11.6 and 11.2; and in
1981, 5.5 per cent and 12.7 per cent respectively.[5]

The statistics reveal a more than 50 per cent fall in the Indian
Tamil population between 1971 and 1981. The main reason for the
fall was the repatriation of Indian citizens to India. Another fact
is that that many Indian Tamils, after acquiring Sri Lankan
citizenship, declared themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils. Some Tamils
who migrated to urban areas and also to the North and the East also
followed this same example.[5]

The social structure of the plantations resembles the South
Indian rural social structure. The community is generalyy bound
by caste system. In a
plantation, the tea factory is the
center of activities and it stands in the central part of the
plantation. The office adjoins this and these are surrounded by the
quarters of the staff members such as clerks, tea makers,
conductors, petty accountants or kanakkupillais, and
supervisors. The bungalows
of the planter and his assistants are in an isolated areas. These
will be in close proximity to the office. The dwellings of the
workers called line rooms are situated a little further
away from the factories.[11]

Those who are considered to be of higher castes such as Vellalas, Kallar, Agamudaiyar, Maravar, Naidus, Reddiars and Nairs occupy the first row of
line rooms. They perform respectable jobs such as factory work and
grinding of tea as minor labor work. Even though they belong to the
labor category they are influential among conductors, tea makers,
kanganies (or supervisors) and other officials. The
workers considered low castes live in the dwellings that are away
from the center and these dwellings are called distant or
lower lines. This group consists of Pallar, Paraiyars, Sakkiliar, washers and barbers. The yard
sweepers and changers of clothes are in the lowest rank.[11]

Survival of customs

These groups follow the customs, traditions, and festivities of
the South Indian Tamil ancestors. The traditional musical instruments
such as Thappu and
Parai are used and folk dances such as Kavadi, Kummi and Karaga Attam are
performed. Folk dramas called Koothu in their various forms such as
Ponnar Koothu, Sangaran Koothu, Arujunan Thabas, Kaman
Koothu are still prevalent among them along with
Silambadi as an important feature.[11]

Religion

In general they use Hindu
beliefs to guide their day to day lives. There are number of
temples and places of worship for deities on estates and in
villages, towns and other places within Sri Lanka to which they
have migrated. When a place is decided to be settled, the settlers
would institute, under a banyan or bo tree,
a triangular shaped stone or figure of a deity, plant a weapon of a
popularly worshiped god such as a spear, trident or sword and
worshiped these. The main deities worshiped ay are, in order of
popularity, the goddess Mariamman, Murugan and his consorts, Valli and Theivanai, Pillayar, Siva, Parvathi, Vishnu and Laxmi, and the goddess of wisdom Saraswati.[11]

In 1981 about 90 percent of the Indian Tamils were Hindus[14].
They have little contact with Buddhism, and they worship the Hindu pantheon
of gods. Their religious myths, stories of saints, literature, and rituals are
distinct from the cultural sources of the Sinhalese.
Furthermore, a minority of the Indian Tamils- 7.6 percent are
converts to Christianity, with their own places of
worship and separate cultural lives. In this way, the large Tamil
minority in Sri Lanka is effectively separated from the mainstream
Sinhalese culture and is fragmented into two major groups with
their own Christian minorities[14]

The first known temple was built in Matale. It began as a stone
an icon of the goddess Mariamman. At this very location where the
worship of her began in 1820, the now-famous Matale Sri
Muthumariamman Temple was built in 1852. The trading community of
the Nattukotai
Chettiars introduced the worship of Murugan in his form as Lord
Kathiresan at Matale and was to subsequently build the Kathiresan
temple at Matale. The annual festival of this temple is celebrated
in the month of July. Devotees of the plantation sector walk from
the tea estates and hometowns they live in to Kathirkamam, a place
considered sacred by both Buddhists and Hindus, in the South of Sri
Lanka, where Murugan is worshiped in the form of Skanda.[11]Deepavali, Pongal and Tamil New Year are commonly celebrated
as festivals.

Each caste has its own deity based on caste predecessors and are
worshiped as guardian angels, such as the Kallar caste had Nallananpillai Perumal as their
guardian angel to whom vows and sacrifices made. Deities such as
Madasamy, Muniandi, Kali, Madurai Veeran, Sangili Karuppan, Vaalraja,
Vairavar, Veerabathran, Sudalai Madan,
Nagaphooshani Ammann and Roda
Mini are also worshiped.[11]

There were 104 registered Hindu temples in the Nuwara EliyaDistrict, 153 in Kandy region
and 62 in Matale in 2001. Religious schools or Araa Nerri
Padasaligal are conducted throughout the Central Province and
registered schools of such nature are, Nuwara Eliya 22, Kandy 54
and Matale 11. A considerable number of Hindu associations and
Institutions have been established and are functioning actively.
There is a serious effort at conversions to other religions as
well. Many have converted to Christianity and Islam. Hindu organizations such as the Vishva
Hindu Parishad tries to stem the tide of conversions.[11]

Politics

The community was a closed community confining themselves to the
plantations, while t actively contributed and contributes to the
economic well-being of this country but the socio economic
indicators of the community was amongst the worst in the country.
The community in general was isolated, living in ghettoes
within the central region as well as linguistically isolated from
the majority Sinhalese villagers who live in the
valleys. They were captive labor whose life in its entity was
decided by the employers. Any social relationship or cultural ties
were only among themselves or with South India. In the 1940s the
trade union movement had galvanized the plantation workers into a
militant working class. They joined hands with the Lanka Sama Samaja (or
Socialist) Party, which carried the message of a working class
struggle for liberation from the exploitation by mostly British
plantation companies.

Sri Lanka became independent in 1948 and the community believes
that it became the first community marked out for discrimination by
the new state of Ceylon in 1948. In the elections to the first parliament of
Ceylon, seven Indian Tamil representatives were returned to
Parliament. The plantation workers voted either for Indian Tamil
candidates or for Lanka Sama Samaja Party
candidates. Dr.N.M.Perera was the leader of the
opposition in the 1st parliament and the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
was the second largest party after the United
National Party.[11]

Disenfranchisement

The first Prime Minister, D.S. Senanayake of the conservativeUnited
National Party reacting to the possibilities of losing power to
leftist
political parties, commenced the task of weakening the leftist
parties and their associate organizations. Indian Tamil labor had
overwhelmingly supported these organizations. According opposition
parties he was also influenced by segments of the majority Sinhalese population who felt their voting
strength was diluted due to Indian Tamils. He introduced the
Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948, the Indian-Pakistani
Citizenship act of 1949 and amended the parliamentary
elections act and disfranchised the Indian Tamils along
with many persons of Indian and Pakistani ancestry. As they had no means of
electing any one to the Parliament they ceased to be the concern of
parliamentary politicians. The plantation workers were thus
forgotten from 1948 - 1964. They were unable to profit by any
progressive legislation. The housing, health and education of the
plantation workers were neglected. Infant mortality was highest in the
country. Although since the introduction of universal franchise in 1931, strong
traditions of social welfare in Sri Lanka have given the island
very high indicators of physical well-being. Impressive national
statistics tended to hide the existence of deprived pockets within
the population and the most deprived population group has been the
plantation labor which had been economically, politically and
socially deprived.[11]

"In the first place we consider it very desirable that a
qualification of five years residence in the Island (allowing the
temporary absence not exceeding eight months in all during the five
years period) should be introduced in order that the privilege of
voting should be confined to those who have an abiding interest in
the country or who may be regarded as permanently settled in the
Island.... this condition will be of particular importance in its
application to the Indian immigrant population. Secondly, we
consider that the registration of voters should not be compulsory
or automatic but should be restricted to those who apply for
it...".

However, the very concept of Universal Franchise was anathema to
most of the political leaders of that era. Ponnambalam Ramanathan, a highly
respected leader, opposed universal franchise as he felt that the
caste system was an integral part of the Hindu way of life([15],
p16), and led a delegation to London seeking to legally enshrine the caste
hierarchy, and dethrone universal franchise. The Kandyan Sinhalese
also objected to the enfranchisement of the Indian estate workers
as they feared that their electoral base would be diluted by a
large influx of Indian Tamil votes. They also argued that the Tea
estates were land plundered by the British, and that the Kandyan
peasants have been driven from their traditional lands and those
injustices would be compounded if the Indian workers were
legitimized. Governor Stanley, by an order in Council introduced
restrictions on the citizenship of Indian workers to make the
Donoughmore proposals acceptable to the Ceylonese leaders. Thus the
first state council of 1931, which consisted of many Tamil and
Sinhalese members, agreed to not to enfranchise the majority of the
Indian estate workers. (p 36 [15]),

"anxieties arising out of the likelihood of large-scale
enfranchisement of the Indian immigrants"

, The Commission, therefore, left the existing basis of
franchise in Sri Lanka undisturbed([16]
p. 217).D. S. Senanayake had led the 1941 talks
with Sir G. S. Bajpai of India and had reach agreement on
modalities of repatriation and citizenship, although they were
finally not ratified by Indian prime minister Nehru. D. S. Senanayake had
expressed the wish to

"embrace all Indian workers who integrate into the country as
members of the Ceylonese nation"

, and had been relatively sympathetic, as early as 1928, and as
late as 1941,to the granting of citizenship to Indian workers who
wished to become permanent residents of the Island.

The Soulbury constitution came into effect in 1946. In trying to
cobble an all-party cabinet inclusive of the Tamils, led by G. G.
Ponnambalam, the Sinhalese nationalist groups led by S. W. R. D Bandaranaike, the Kandyan
Sinhalese, Senanayake had to find a compromise formula. The 1947
elections had returned 6 representatives from the Ceylon Indian
Congress (CIC), based on the votes of the franchised Indian workers
and hill-country Tamils. Although this worried the Kandyans, the
main reason for Senanayake and others to review their attitude to
Indian workers was the growing threat of Marxist infiltration into
estate trade unions. In this he had won the concurrence of G. G.
Ponnambalam for the second citizenship act which required ten years
of residence in the Island as a condition for becoming citizens of
the new nation. Senanayake, who had been very favorable to easy
citizenship to the Indian workers had increasingly modified his
views in the face of Marxist trade union activity. The Bracegirdle
affaire ([17]
p539) was regarded as the harbinger of such dangers. The fear of
left-wing politics began to grow in the minds of Sri Lankan
politicians of the era. The Colonial government responded to the
agitation of the Leftists by imprisoning N. M. Perera, Colvin R. de
Silva and other Left leaders. Anti Marxist feelings were shared
by the main-stream Sinhalese and Tamil leaders alike. ([17],
Ch. 36). The criticism in the house was leveled by Tamil members of
the upper chamber (senate), like Senator Natesan, who pointed out
that Senanayake had supported the franchise of the Indian Tamils
till recently, and had "caved in" more recently.

Parliamentary acts

As the first Prime Minister, D.S. Senanayake, leader of the United
national Party (UNP), feared the strong possibilities of Marxist
disruption of government and commenced the task of weakening the
Marxist parties and their associate organizations. Thus the newly
independent first cabinet introduced the Ceylon Citizenship Act of
1948, the Indian-Pakistani Citizenship act of 1949 and amended the
parliamentary elections act. The requirements of ten years
of residence for married persons, and seven years for unmarried
persons, stipulated in the 1949 act were in line with the
legislation used by European nations at the time. It also allowed
citizenship to “a person born in Ceylon prior to the date of the
Act coming into force, of a father born in Ceylon”. However, this
was in effect a continuation of the older, somewhat harsher
status quo of the Indian workers in the 1930s, prior to
the Donoughmore constitution which called for only five years
residence.

Opposition views

However, Ponnambalam and Senanayake were strongly criticized by
the Marxist groups as well as by the pro-Sri Lankan Tamil Federal Party (Sri Lanka), it
branded Ponnambalam a "traitor", and Senanayake a "Sinhala
extremist.". S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, the
leader of the Tamil Arasu Kachchi, contested the citizenship act
before the Supreme Court, and then in the Privy council in England, on grounds of discrimination towards
minorities but the decision concluded that the citizenship act
stipulated conditions well in line with those of European states.[18]. As
the President of the Ceylon Indian Congress (CIC), S.
Thondaman had contested the Nuwara Eliya seat at the 1947
general election and won. His party put forward seven candidates in
the plantation electorates and six of them were returned. Thus
Thondaman became the spokesperson of the plantation workers. The
CIC sat with the opposition which included the Marxist parties. He
opposed the 1948 citizenship act. Mr.Thondaman supported the Sri
Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)in the 1960 elections; after the victory
of the SLFP he was appointed to the House of Representative as a
nominated Member of Parliament. However, he opposed the 1964
Sirima-Shastri Indo-Ceylon citizenship act. After the victory of
the UNP in 1965, S.Thondaman was named as appointed Member of
Parliament by the UNP.

Final rectification

The J.R.Jayawardene government which came to
power in 1977 rectified the existing short comings of the Indian
citizenship act and granted citizenship to all Indian Estate
workers (see below). Even at that time, Thondaman was the leader of
the Ceylon Workers
Congress, the party of the Hill-country Tamils, and had become
a skillful player of minority-party politics. He had avoided
joining with the Tamil United Liberation Front TULF resolutions of 1974 which
had continued with the policies of the ITAK. Thus the hill-country
Tamils have successfully charted a course of cooperating with
successive Sri Lankan governments.

Labor
practices

Manual Tea plucking in Sri Lanka.

Based on the cultivation of cash crops, it is the dominant
sector in the country's economy. It is a major earner of foreign
exchange and the largest employer. Cheap labor is one of the
essential ingredients of its success. Hence these immigrants were
bonded and under paid. In 1921 workers were empowered to break
these bonds of indebtedness tying them to the estates. The minimum
wages ordinance was extended to plantation labor in 1927 marginally
raising the wages that had not changed since the 19th century. This
daily wages was 41 Cts. in 1933. Owing to trade union activities it
was raised to Rs 17/83 in 1983, Rs 72/24 in 1993 and became Rs 101
in 1998. The wages of female workers was lesser than males but has
been equalized since1984. Even though there was an increase in
wages, the living wages are not sufficient to meet their day to day
needs. The plantations were nationalized under the 1972 land reform
law and its 1975 amendment. The state owned plantations are managed
by the Sri Lanka Plantation Corporation & Janatha Estate
Development Board. The nationalization did not result in any basic
change on the plantation sector. The state has been forced to take
a greater interest in the health, housing and general well-being of
the laborers. Hence estate schools were nationalized and brought
into the general educational system with the grant of Swedish International Development Agency
(SIDA) many schools were built. This helped the slight growth of literacy rates. With the increased
unemployment, plantation sector youths looked for other avenues. A
considerable number of Indian Tamil girls are employed in garment
factories. Some work in the Middle East as housemaids. There is net
migration towards urban areas as well as foreign countries. Prior
to the commencement of the Sri Lankan civil
war many had migrated to the northern province.[11][19] Now
the plantation communities have the Plantation Human Development
Trust, developed to protect their rights and ensure adequate
facilities are provided such as creches and toilets. Other NGOs
work towards the development of the plantation commmunities such as
Shining Life Children's
Trust and Hanguranketha Women's Foundation.

Current
status

Inside a Tea processing factory

The Srima-Shastri pact of 1964 and Indira-Sirimavo supplementary
agreement of 1974 paved the way for the repatriation of 600,000
persons of Indian origin to India. Another 375,000 persons were to
accepted as citizens of Sri Lanka which made them enter the polity.
These repatriation agreements were the harbingers of the
destruction of this community, which had evolved into a composite
group with a distinct culture of its own. In the fifties and
sixties this community was clamoring for education and recognition
of its distinctive culture. This brought in the emergence of a
community consciousness and the artesian of a distinct community.
An educated middle class comprising of teachers, trade unionists
and other professional began to make its appearance. There was a
vigorous campaign for social ameliorations and increased
educational facilities. There was a growing spirit of resistance.
People destroyed Indian passports and refused to go to India.
Repatriation was resisted. International opinion was canvassed
against deprivation of citizenship rights. The plantation people
who were not prepared to leave, destitute, the land whose property
they had built . They were prepared to fraternize within the
Sinhalese and accept Sri Lankan leadership in the trade union
movement. In the general election of
1977 they were able to elect 11 candidates. This helped the
emergence of the plantation people as a political force, but they
were faced with communal violence in 1977, 1983 and in 2000[5]. In
1984-5, to stop India intervening in Sri Lankan affairs, the UNP
government eventually granted citizenship right to all stateless
persons. The late Savumiamoorthy Thondaman was
instrumental in using this electoral strength in assuring the
socioeconomic conditions of hill country Tamils to improve.[11] The
plight of the repatriated persons in India has not been good.[20]